MP Police books Twitter India MD Manish Maheshwari over incorrect India map

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], June 29 (ANI): After Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh Police has filed an FIR against Twitter India Managing Director Manish Maheshwari after the microblogging site posted a distorted India map on its website.

The FIR was registered on Tuesday by the Bhopal Police Cyber Cell under Section 505 of the Information Technology Act.

Speaking to ANI, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said that the FIR was filed after the police received complaints from the people.

“We received a serious complaint against Twitter related to map of India. People from social and political organisations filed a report with Cyber Police. Officials took cognizance and filed an FIR against Twitter India Managing Director Manish Maheshwari under section 505 of IT Act,” Mishra said.

A map of India, which showed the Union Territories of Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir as not a part of India had appeared on Twitter’s website under its Career page and had invited severe backlash from netizens. The social media platform had late on Monday removed the incorrect map from its site.

Earlier, based on a complaint by a Bajrang Dal leader in Bulandshahr, the Uttar Pradesh Police had booked Twitter India Managing Director Manish Maheshwari under Section 505 (2) of Indian Penal Code and Section 74 of IT (Amendment) Act 2008 for showing the wrong map of India on its website.

Previously, in October 2020, Twitter had labelled the Indian territory of Leh in Ladakh as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

The government of India had then issued a warning to CEO Jack Dorsey over the misrepresentation of the Indian map. Giving notice to Twitter, Secretary IT had said that such attempts not only bring disrepute to Twitter but also raise questions about its neutrality and fairness as an intermediary.

Now for the past several months, Twitter has been involved in a stand-off with the Indian government over the new amendments in the country’s new Information Technology laws with the microblogging platform losing its intermediary status and becoming liable for user-generated content. (ANI)